A favour to Ask (and a tool I'd love you to try)
11 September 2026
The end of consultations? Maybe soon, but not quite yet…
On Monday, 3 bigwigs in government wrote to all ministers complaining about consultations leading to “dither and delay”. We'll see where this leaves the SEND reform consultations, but in the meantime, sharpen your pencils for 2 more which end on Friday 18th September.
SEND Library
Over the summer I built a Library for SEND and Ask Ai tool to interrogate it. I realised I was reading a lot, sharing things with you, and then… it was gone forever.
Today we have 1106 documents, across 113 publishers. Check it out, and feel free to play with the experimental Ask Ai tool. Your feedback is appreciated.
SEND reform: education otherwise than at school
The actual consultation is fairly chunky, with walls of text and 19 actual questions, but as usual I've put together some quotes to get you thinking.
consult.education.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)
“The most common needs are social, emotional and mental health difficulties, and autism. It's a clear sign that there is both a lack of support and a lack of suitable provision. But this consultation is not concerned with that. The Department for Education (DfE) wants as many children as possible back behind school gates, instead of costing LAs money.”
By Tania Tirraoro. specialneedsjungle.com (opens in a new tab)
“Children and young people who cannot currently be educated in a school setting are some of the most vulnerable, medically complex and traumatised. We are pleased that the government has acknowledged this. However, the current proposals risk reducing legal rights rather than protecting them which could cause further damage.”
By Disabled Children's Partnership. disabledchildrenspartnership.org.uk (opens in a new tab)
“In the proposed future system, it would be schools rather than local authorities, who would have responsibility for time-limited alternative provision for compulsory school age which would also be restricted to those deemed unable to attend school on health grounds, plus any alternative provision could only be sourced from an approved list of providers. … There is already a rule that the Ombudsman cannot look at what happens in schools, so the proposed shift from local authorities to schools will remove an independent challenge route.”
By Fiona Nicholson. edyourself.org (opens in a new tab)
“Another strong theme was the importance of personalised provision. Families described successful EOTAS packages as highly individual, tailored to the specific needs, strengths and circumstances of each child. While quality assurance is important, parents emphasised that flexibility must remain at the heart of any future system.”
By Down's Syndrome Association. downs-syndrome.org.uk (opens in a new tab)
Upfront funding for mainstream schools: creating a “local SEND inclusion formula”
consult.education.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)
7 actual questions, but this seems like a harder consultation to answer. I'd be interested to know if your LA has decided to pilot this.
Mainstream SEND Funding: a simple explainer, another consultation, and why it really matters
“These are supposed to be evidence-driven SEND reforms. At this stage, you might be wondering what evidence there is to show how much money mainstream schools spend on SEND now, and how delegating more funding to them will improve things. The starting point isn't great. At strategic policy level, no one knows how much money mainstream schools and trusts currently spend on SEND from their core budgets. No one. At ground level, governors and trustees are supposed to hold schools and trusts to account for SEND spending, but that's it.”
By Matt Keer. specialneedsjungle.com (opens in a new tab)
Revealed: the uneven split of £1.6 billion inclusion fund
The data shows…
- 1,399 small primary schools, 8 per cent of all primaries, stand to receive less than £6,000 this year
- 231 secondary schools will receive less than £19,000 each, which is less than the starting salary of a full-time teaching assistant
- just 15 schools are in line for a grant above £100,000 for the year, nine of which have more than 2,000 pupils
- primary schools will receive £13,485 on average, with secondary schools in line for an average £47,531
- the average per-pupil funding is £60 for primary schools and £52 for secondaries
By Chaminda Jayanetti. schoolsweek.co.uk (opens in a new tab)
It's good to be back to the newsletter, after a long break.
Cheers,
Jonny Holden